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Seoul to launch metropolitan area travel pass for foreigners

By Kim Jae-heunForeign tourists will get free admission or discounts at 96 attractions in Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi Province, with a special travel card.The Seoul Metropolitan Government said Monday it will issue 6,000 limited versions of the Discover Seoul Pass on Tuesday.The travel ticket exclusively for foreigners, introduced by Seoul City in July 2016, has given free access to 36 tourist sites and discounts for 30 concert halls, beauty parlors and hallyu-related venues in the capital city only, plus transportation card function.However, the special edition card, made in collaboration with tourist organizations of Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, will allow visits to 30 more spots in the capital region, including Everland and the Korean Folk Village in Yongin and Ara Waterway Cruise. The promotion is designed to encourage foreign tourists to visit regions other than Seoul ― 78.8 percent of tourists last year traveled only in Seoul, according to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.The city government will issue 2,000 tickets each for one-, two- and three-day passe

Nov 5, 2018By Kim Jae-heun
Seoul to launch metropolitan area travel pass for foreigners
Law & Crime

886 foreigners caught during 100-day crackdown

By Kim Jae-heunA total of 886 foreigners were apprehended for violence and illegal gambling among other crimes during a 100-day crackdown that started mid-July, with 89 being detained, according to police, Sunday.The crackdown _ between July 16 and Oct. 23 _ targeted foreign nationals involved in violent organized crime as well as those smuggling drugs and offering gambling. According to the National Police Agency, out of 402 cases, assault and violent crime ranked top with 115, followed by gambling at 89, drug trafficking with 81 cases and counterfeiting fourth with 53.Most of the violence involved physical fights between foreigners, alongside acts of vandalism, while intoxicated. Police enforced organized crime laws on foreigners engaged in sex trafficking and loan-sharking at local casinos. Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said they arrested nine foreigners and detained one, for loaning gambling money to Chinese tourists at a hotel casino in July and assaulting those who failed to pay them back. They also arrested 23 Chinese for smuggling methamphetamine into Korea in October. In

Nov 4, 2018By Kim Jae-heun
Others

Different thoughts

Members of civic groups stage a protest at Gwanghwamun in Seoul, Saturday, urging the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Korea on the occasion of Student Day. in the back ground can be seen people who participated in a 'Taegeukgi rally' calling for the enhancement of the Korea-U.S. alliance. Yonhap

Nov 4, 2018By Kim Jae-heun
Different thoughts
North Korea

Sexual violence rampant in NK: report

Human Rights Watch Executive Director Kenneth Roth holds the report “You Cry at Night but Don’t Know Why: Sexual Violence against Women in North Korea” during a press conference in central Seoul, Thursday. / YonhapBy Kim Jae-heunA report by Human Rights Watch (HRW), an international nongovernmental organization, revealed Thursday that government officials committin sexual violence is rampant in North Korea.The report, titled “You Cry at Night but Don't Know Why': Sexual Violence against Women in North Korea,” contains interviews with 106 North Korean defectors conducted between January 2015 and July 2018. Fifty-seven of them have defected after Kim Jong-un rose to power in 2011.According to the report, a large number of married women in North Korea had become exposed to sexual violence while working at marketplaces, where government officials exploit them sexually. Twenty-one women said they have either been sexually harassed or assaulted by government officials.According to one female defector, state regulators or security men would just tell women to f

Nov 1, 2018By Kim Jae-heun
Sexual violence rampant in NK: report
Society

Local universities attracting foreign students for survival

Schools face income drop amid declining number of studentsBy Kim Jae-heunThe decreasing population here due to the lowest-ever birthrate in the country has already caused multiple social problems. The low number of students at universities here is one prominent issue at the moment. The falling birthrate has naturally led to a diminishing number of students at elementary, middle and high schools ― and eventually universities.The 2018 statistics on overall enrollment of new undergraduates in the country has recorded the lowest since 2010. Only 311,125 freshmen entered college this year, according to the Ministry of Education. The total number of students currently at universities also recorded the lowest number in eight years, 2.03 million, which is 20,583 down from 2017. Since 2013, the government has cut down on recruitment at substandard universities as part of its college restructuring plans to cope with the decreasing number of students.This trend has brought an alarming decline in local universities' income on tuition fees, too. Universities here earned a total 8 trillion won las

Nov 1, 2018By Kim Jae-heun
Local universities attracting foreign students for survival
Law & Crime

Gov't confirms soldiers' assaults during Gwangju uprising

By Kim Jae-heunThe government has confirmed a number of cases of sexual violence committed against female citizens by soldiers during the May 18 Democratic Uprising in Gwangju in 1980. This is the first time any government has acknowledged the past administration's sex crimes against civilians.A joint fact-finding team, launched by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, the Ministry of National Defense and the National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) announced Wednesday it had found 17 cases of sexual violence by troops operating under martial law, other cases of sexual harassment and the torture of citizens.The government launched the investigation into what happened 38 years ago, after an anonymous victim testified about sexual assault in May this year. The joint investigation team has been collecting victims' statements and related documents since then.Rape victims were threatened with guns before being raped by multiple soldiers, according to the testimonies. Victims varied in age from teenage students to housewives in their 30s. Female protesters who were detained

Oct 31, 2018By Kim Jae-heun
Society

Korea Times, CUK sign MOU on Korean language program

Cyber University of Korea President Kim Jin-sung, left, and President and Publisher of The Korea Times Lee Byeong-eon shake hands during the memorandum of understanding signing ceremony at the newspaper company's building in central Seoul, Tuesday. / Korea Times photo by Choi Won-sukBy Kim Jae-heunThe nation's oldest English newspaper The Korea Times has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Cyber University of Korea (CUK) to promote the latter's online Korean language lectures on its website.The online university will provide its free learning program “Quick Korean” to The Korea Times, which will share it on its online news platform for foreign visitors to use.“The Korea Times is the nation's first English news daily and we are also the first cyber university established in Korea,” CUK President Kim Jin-sung said during the MOU signing ceremony held in The Korea Times' office in central Seoul, Tuesday. “As we, both are pioneers in each sector and have come together to collaborate on promoting the Korean language, I believe we will make a good

Oct 30, 2018By Kim Jae-heun
  • TOPIK to introduce speaking test from 2023
Law & Crime

Governor Lee summoned over multiple accusations

Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung answers journalists’ questions at Bundang Police Station in Seongnam, Monday. /YonhapBy Kim Jae-heunGyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung appeared before police for questioning, Monday, on multiple allegations involving his family members, an alleged affair with an actress and bribery suspicions. This was the first time he answered police questions since he won the June 13 local election. Lee arrived at Bundang Police Station in Seongnam and shook hands with supporters before standing at a photo line to answer questions from journalists.“The police investigation will uncover everything,” Lee said. “There are always ups and downs in life. I've never abused my power for personal purposes. Justice will prevail in the end.”Lee said he wanted people to pay more attention to his policies instead of the allegations against him, saying, “I hope people become more interested in how to improve their lives and change the future of the country.”Asked if he had any complaints about the police investigation, Lee

Oct 29, 2018By Kim Jae-heun
Governor Lee summoned over multiple accusations
Foreign Affairs

Gov't to send military aircraft to rescue tourists in Saipan

Debris is scattered after typhoon Yutu hit the U.S. Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in Garapan, Saipan, Thursday. / YonhapBy Kim Jae-heunThe government decided to dispatch a military transport plane to help bring 1,800 tourists home from the resort island of Saipan after it was battered by a super typhoon.“The military transport plane will carry Korean tourists from Saipan to Guam, while a rapid response team will supply food, medicine and water. The special plane will arrive in Saipan by Saturday,” the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said in a statement, late Friday, adding the decision came after relevant government agencies including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of National Defense agreed to initiate the rescue plan in an emergency meeting.The government promptly requested permission for airspace and airport landing at Saipan International Airport. The aircraft will transport Korean tourists to nearby Guam in the West Pacific, where the country's flagship carriers will bring them back to Seoul and Busan.“Because of

Oct 26, 2018By Kim Jae-heun
Gov't to send military aircraft to rescue tourists in Saipan
Society

Gov't to impose state accounting on kindergartens

By Kim Jae-heunPrivate kindergartens will have to adopt a state-run accounting system for public institutes by 2020 as part of government measures to improve their transparency.Kindergartens planning to suspend operations or refusing to admit new students in protest of the measures will face administrative action or even a police investigation.The government and ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) announced these measures to eradicate irregularities at private kindergartens, after a lawmaker recently disclosed widespread corruption among private preschool owners, including accounting fraud and budget misappropriation.According to the plan, 600 large private kindergartens will have to use the state's Edufine accounting system starting March next year, and its adoption will be expanded to smaller institutes by 2020. While public kindergartens and schools have used the system, private preschools have been doing their own books, resulting in accounting fraud and misappropriation of government subsidies.Many education insiders have frequently stated that private kindergartens need to a

Oct 25, 2018By Kim Jae-heun
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